There are many current styles and implementations of training weights for use to improve the strength and performance of athletes. A major drawback of many of the existing weight devices is that they rely on the use of lead, which is a hazardous substance. Lead plates or bars are used in these existing devices due to lead's ability to be hand formed and then maintain the hand formed shape. However, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued guidance to manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers warning against the use of lead in consumer products.
The majority of training weights are general purpose devices such as ankle weights, weight vests, wrist weights, and weight belts that attach to the athlete's body. Another general category is weighted devices that mimic the shape and size of sports equipment. Two such devices are outlined in United States Patent Applications 20040176194 (Lacrosse training device) and 20050261075 (Sports training and conditioning device). The other general category includes training weights which attach to sports equipment and are targeted at specific sports such as baseball, tennis, golf, hockey, and lacrosse. The majority of these devices are intended to be attached to the handle or shaft of the sports equipment. Examples are outlined in United States Patent Applications 20050277491 (Adjustable weight training belt for a baseball bat), 20040259666 (Weighted training tape), 20020128085 (Swing weight) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,325 (Flexible swing weight). The category of the present invention is those devices that attach to the head of the sports equipment. One such device for tennis rackets is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,560, issued Jul. 11, 1967.
Two weight training products are currently found marketed in the general merchandise catalogs for lacrosse. The first product is a weighted lacrosse handle marketed by Warrior, the Powermaster Training Handle and is not in the category of the present invention. The second product is the Warrior Weighted Stick Doughnut and is in the category of the present invention. This second product attaches at the bottom of the lacrosse head and around the top of the lacrosse handle, concentrating the entire weight locally. A disadvantage of the second product and other prior art weighted training devices is the use of fabric as the outer casing to hold the weight medium. Fabric is flexible and allows these prior art training weights to wrap around sports equipment and an athlete's body parts. However, fabric has no structural rigidity. This lack of structural rigidity allows undue relative motions of the prior art devices during use. With a fabric casing, both shifting of the weight device relative to the sports equipment and shifting of the weight medium relative to the fabric casing occur. These undesirable relative motions are exaggerated by the back and forth rotational cradling motion required in lacrosse.
A basic stick handling technique that is unique to the sport of lacrosse is cradling. Cradling is essential to keep the ball secure in the lacrosse head pocket while a player is running, dodging, and being checked by other players that are attempting to force the ball to be dropped. Cradling consists of rotating the lacrosse stick back and forth about the axis of the lacrosse handle to keep the ball held in the pocket of the lacrosse head. To avoid checks by other players, the player cradling the ball will also abruptly change the position of the lacrosse stick in reference to his body. To maintain a balanced feel during these lacrosse stick handling motions, a weighted attachment must distribute its weight uniformly around the entire perimeter of the lacrosse head and not allow shifting of its self and its weight medium.
The application of attaching a weighted device to the perimeter of a lacrosse head creates multiple issues that must be addressed with novel approaches. Multiple manufacturers' head designs, multiple pocket styles, and multiple stringing methods combine to demand a novel solution. Therefore the device design must include features that allow the device to conform to multiple shapes and an attachment method that easily adapts to available securing points on any given combination of head, pocket, and stringing method.